List of American sportsperson-politicians
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This is a list of American sportsperson-politicians.
List[]
Person | Athletic background | Political background | Party |
---|---|---|---|
Dave Albritton | Track and Field: 1936 Olympic high jump medal winner | Member of the Ohio House of Representatives, 1961–1972 | Republican |
Colin Allred | Football: Played for the Tennessee Titans | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 32nd district, 2019–present | Democratic |
Dave Bing | Basketball: Hall of Fame shooting guard at Syracuse University and three NBA teams, including the Detroit Pistons | Mayor of Detroit 2009–2013 | Democratic |
Brandon Bochenski | Ice hockey: Played wing for the University of North Dakota and several AHL and NHL teams | Mayor of Grand Forks, North Dakota, 2020–present | Republican |
Bill Bradley | Basketball: Hall of Fame small forward at Princeton University, 1964 Olympic gold medal team, and the New York Knicks | U.S. senator from New Jersey, 1979–97 | Democratic |
Fred H. Brown | Baseball: outfielder for the Boston Beaneaters | United States Attorney, Governor of New Hampshire, member of the United States Senate, Comptroller General of the United States | Democratic |
Jim Bunning | Baseball: Hall of Fame pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Los Angeles Dodgers | Member of U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th district, 1987–99; U.S. Senator from Kentucky, 1999–2011 | Republican |
Ben Nighthorse Campbell | Judo: Captain of the US team at the 1964 Summer Olympics | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 3rd district, 1987–93; U.S. Senator from Colorado, 1993–2005 | Democratic (before 1995) Republican (1995–present) |
Sharice Davids | Mixed Martial Arts: Fought professionally, 2013–2014 | Member of the U.S. House Of Representatives from Kansas's 3rd congressional district, 2018–present | Democratic |
Terry Dehere | Basketball: Seton Hall University, 1989–93; Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Vancouver Grizzlies, 1993–99 | Jersey City Council, 2001–07; Jersey City Board of Education, 2007–present | Independent |
LaVern Dilweg | Football: Green Bay Packers, 1927–1934 | U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 8th district, 1943–1945 | Democratic |
Gerald Ford | Football: center, linebacker, and long snapper for University of Michigan, 1932–1935, assistant varsity football coach for Yale University, 1935–1937, junior varsity head football coach for Yale University, 1938[1] | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 5th district, 1949–1973, Vice President of the United States of America, 1973–1974, President of the United States of America, 1974-1977 | Republican |
Anthony Gonzalez | Football: Ohio State University, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 16th district, 2019–present | Republican |
Glenn Jacobs | Professional wrestler on the independent circuit (1992–1995) and in WWE (1995–present), most notably as Kane. Also played football and basketball at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University). | Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee (2018–present) | Republican |
Fob James | Football: All-American halfback for Auburn University, 1952–1955 and Montreal Alouettes, 1956 | Governor of Alabama, 1979–83 and 1995–99. | Democratic (before 1970, 1978–1994) Republican (1970–1978, 1994–present) |
Kevin Johnson | Basketball: University of California, Berkeley, 1983–1987; Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, 1987–2000 | Mayor of Sacramento, 2008–16. | Democratic |
Walter Johnson | Baseball: Hall of Fame pitcher for the Washington Senators, 1907–27 | Montgomery County, Maryland commissioner, 1938; candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 6th district, 1940 | Republican |
Hayes Jones | Running: Winner of 110m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics. | Member of the Michigan State House of Representatives, 2006 | Democratic |
Jim Jordan | Wrestling: Two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, 1985–1986, assistant wrestling coach for Ohio State University, 1987-1995 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 2007–present | Republican |
Jack Kemp | Football: Played quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, 1962–69 | Congressman from Western New York, 1971–89; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1989–1993; Republican nominee for vice president in 1996 | Republican |
Steve Largent | Football: Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, 1976–89 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 1st district, 1995–2003; Republican nominee for Governor of Oklahoma, 2002 | Republican |
Don Lash | Running: Set a world record for the two-mile run in 1936, competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics | Member of the Indiana House of Representatives, 1973–1982 | Republican |
Bob Mathias | Track and Field: Decathlon winner at the Summer Olympics in 1948 and 1952 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 18th district, 1967–75 | Republican |
Tom McMillen | Basketball: Played for the University of Maryland and the Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Bullets | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district, 1987–93 | Democratic |
Wayne Messam | Football: wide receiver for Florida State University, and in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals, 1997 | Miramar City Commissioner, 2011–2015; Mayor of Miramar, Florida, 2015–present; candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. | Democratic |
Ralph Metcalfe | Running: Medalist at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 1st district, 1971–78 | Democratic |
Jack Mildren | Football: Quarterback at the University of Oklahoma and with the Baltimore Colts and New England Patriots | Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, 1991–95 | Democratic |
Wilmer Mizell | Baseball: Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets, 1952–62 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 5th district, 1969–75 | Republican |
Markwayne Mullin | Mixed Martial Arts: Fought professionally, 2006-2007 | Member of the U.S. House Of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district, 2013–present | Republican |
Tom Osborne | Head football coach for the University of Nebraska, 1973–97; University of Nebraska athletic director, 2007–2013 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 3rd district, 2001–07 | Republican |
Burgess Owens | Safety for the University of Miami (1970–72), New York Jets (1973–79), and Oakland Raiders (1980–82) | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 4th district, 2021–present | Republican |
Alan Page | Football: Played for University of Notre Dame and the Minnesota Vikings | Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1993–2015 | Independent |
Jon Runyan Sr. | Football: Offensive tackle for University of Michigan, and in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans (1996–99), Philadelphia Eagles (2000–08), and San Diego Chargers (2009) | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 3rd district, 2011–15 | Republican |
Ed Rutkowski | Wide receiver and later quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, 1963–68 | Executive of Erie County, New York, 1979–87; deputy commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, 1995–2006 | Republican |
Jim Ryun | Running: The last American to hold the world record in the mile run, competitor in the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Summer Olympics, first high schooler to break the four-minute mile | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's 2nd district, 1996–2007 | Republican |
Jim Schwantz | Football: linebacker for Purdue University, and in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers | Mayor of Palatine, Illinois 2009–present | Nonpartisan |
Pius Schwert | Baseball: catcher for the Penn Quakers and New York Yankees | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 42nd congressional district, 1939–41 | Democratic |
Heath Shuler | Football: Played for the University of Tennessee and the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 11th congressional district, 2007–13 | Democratic |
John K. Tener | Baseball: Played for the Orioles in 1885, Chicago White Stockings from 1888 to 1889, and the Pittsburgh Burghers for the 1890 season. | Member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 24th district. 25th Governor of Pennsylvania | Republican |
Tommy Tuberville | Football: Played for Southern Arkansas University; assistant coach at Arkansas State University, the University of Miami, and Texas A&M University; head coach at the University of Mississippi, Auburn University, Texas Tech University, and the University of Cincinnati | U.S. Senator from Alabama, 2021–present | Republican |
Mo Udall | Basketball: Played for the University of Arizona, and later with the Denver Nuggets for one year | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 2nd district, 1961–1991 | Democratic |
Jesse Ventura | Wrestling: American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation | Governor of Minnesota, 1999–2003 | Independence Party of Minnesota |
J. C. Watts | Football: Played for University of Oklahoma and the Ottawa Rough Riders | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 4th district, 1995–2003 | Republican |
Frank White | Baseball: World Series champion who played for the Kansas City Royals for 18 years. | Member of the Jackson County Legislature, 2014–2016; Jackson County Executive, 2016–present | Democratic |
Dwayne Woodruff | Football: Cornerback with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1979–1990) | Judge in the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, 2005–present | Independent |
Other offices[]
- Arne Duncan, who played basketball at Harvard University and went on to play in Australia's National Basketball League from 1987 to 1991, served as United States Secretary of Education under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2016.
- Byron White, who played for NFL teams Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers during 1938 and 1941, served as United States Deputy Attorney General under president John F. Kennedy and was nominated by him to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
See also[]
- List of sportsperson-politicians (international list)
References[]
- ^ "At Yale, Ford doubled as coach, law student". 17 January 2007.
Categories:
- Lists of American sportspeople
- Lists of American politicians
- Lists of people by second occupation
- American athlete-politicians